These 20 stocks in the S&P 500 fell hardest during March

By Philip van Doorn

The worst performers included cosmetics companies, cruise operators, airlines and Paramount Skydance, which was down 33% for the month

These stocks are among the worst performers of the S&P 500 during March.

Updated with day-end prices for stocks and commodities on March 31.

U.S. stock indexes ended March with a rally on Tuesday. But it was still a month of broad and sharp declines after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.

The S&P 500 SPX rose 2.9% on Tuesday to end March with a 5.1% decline. Among the components of the large-cap U.S. benchmark index, 84% showed declines for March. There were 144 stocks in the S&P 500 with declines of at least 10.0% for the month, and 46 down at least 15.0% during March.

All price changes in this article exclude dividends. Here is how the 11 sectors of the S&P 500 fared during March, ascending, with the full index at the bottom:

   Sector or index           March price change  2026 price change  2025 price change 
   Industrials                            -8.5%               4.3%              17.7% 
   Healthcare                             -8.3%              -5.3%              12.5% 
   Consumer staples                       -7.7%               7.0%               1.3% 
   Communication services                 -7.3%              -7.1%              32.4% 
   Materials                              -7.1%               9.3%               8.4% 
   Real estate                            -6.6%               1.9%              -0.3% 
   Consumer discretionary                 -5.7%              -9.3%               5.3% 
   Information technology                 -3.9%              -9.3%              23.3% 
   Financial                              -3.7%              -9.8%              13.3% 
   Utilities                              -3.4%               7.5%              12.7% 
   Energy                                 10.3%              37.2%               5.0% 
   S&P 500                                -5.1%              -4.6%              16.4% 
                                                                         Source: LSEG 

It was no surprise that the energy sector was the only one to show a gain for the month, with the flow of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz disrupted by Iran. Oil hasn't been the only affected fuel commodity. Qatar, which was the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas before the Iran conflict began, temporarily ceased all of its gas exports after two of its 14 "trains" used to purify and cool natural gas for transport were damaged by Iranian missiles.

Continuous front-month contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude oil (CL00) declined 1.2% to $101.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday, up 52% from $67.02 on Feb. 27 and up 77% from $57.42 on Dec. 31.

Read: Here's the long-term case for investing in producers of oil and natural gas

The materials sector declined 7.1% during March. Continuous front-month contracts for gold (GC00) rose 3.1% on Tuesday to $4,702.30 an ounce. Gold was down 10.4% from $5.247.90 on Feb. 27, but it was up 8.3% from $4,341.10 at the end of 2025.

Mining stocks: Gold's tumble has created opportunities to buy these stocks at bargain prices

Worst performers for the month among the S&P 500

Here are the 20 stocks in the S&P 500 showing the largest declines during March:

   Company                            March price change  2026 price change  2025 price changeIndustry 
   Estée Lauder                                   -34.4%             -31.5%              39.7%Personal products 
   Paramount Skydance                             -33.2%             -32.7%              28.1%Entertainment production 
   Super Micro Computer                           -29.7%             -22.2%              -4.0%Computer hardware 
   McCormick                                      -29.0%             -25.9%             -10.7%Food processing 
   Centene                                        -27.0%             -20.4%             -32.1%Managed healthcare 
   Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings                 -24.6%             -16.2%             -13.3%Hotels, motels & cruise lines 
   Fair Isaac                                     -24.3%             -36.9%             -15.1%Software 
   Lennar                                         -24.1%             -15.5%             -22.1%Homebuilding 
   Dollar General                                 -24.0%             -10.6%              75.1%Discount stores 
   Southwest Airlines                             -23.7%              -9.1%              22.9%Airlines 
   Ulta Beauty                                    -23.7%             -13.6%              39.1%Miscellaneous specialty retailers 
   Sysco                                          -21.8%              -3.2%              -3.6%Food retail & distribution 
   Axon Enterprise                                -21.7%             -25.2%              -4.4%Aerospace & defense 
   Builders FirstSource                           -21.1%             -20.0%             -28.0%Construction supplies & fixtures 
   Lennox International                           -18.6%              -4.4%             -20.3%Electrical components & equipment 
   Clorox                                         -18.5%               2.8%             -37.9%Household products 
   AES                                            -18.5%              -1.7%              11.4%Electric utilities 
   Boston Scientific                              -18.3%             -34.2%               6.8%Advanced medical equipment & technology 
   NRG Energy                                     -18.3%              -8.2%              76.5%Electric utilities 
   Conagra Brands                                 -18.3%              -9.2%             -37.6%Food processing 
                                                                                                                           Source: LSEG 

Click on the tickers for more about each company.

Read: A detailed guide to the information available on the MarketWatch quote page

Estée Lauder (EL) was the worst performer among the S&P 500 during March, with a 34.4% decline. The company said on March 23 that it had been discussing a possible merger with Puig Brands, which is based in Spain.

Paramount Skydance (PSKY) was the second-worst performer among the S&P 500 during March, with a 33.2% decline, as investors reacted to the high price it had agreed to pay to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). MarketWatch's Lukas I. Alpert reported on the coming vote for WBD shareholders on the deal and possible regulatory scrutiny of the pending merger.

The third-worst performer, with a 29.7% decline, was Super Micro Computer (SMCI), one of whose co-founders is facing federal charges of conspiring to ship servers illegally to China. According to the indictment, the servers included sophisticated graphics processing units that were made by Nvidia (NVDA) and banned by the federal government from being exported to China.

Sysco (SYY) was down 21.8% for March. The stock fell 15% on Monday after the company agreed to pay $29 billion to acquire Jetro Restaurant Depot. Here's an explanation of why investors think Sysco is overpaying.

Another food deal: McCormick investors like the $44.8 billion Unilever Foods deal, even though there's a catch

Micron Technology (MU) rallied 5% on Tuesday to close out March with an 18.1% decline for the month, so it was no longer included in the list of 20 worst performers for the month among the S&P 500. But Micron remained the cheapest stock in the S&P 500 on a forward price/earnings basis, with a P/E ratio of 4.2.

Reaction: Micron's stock bounces, as an analyst offers a reality check on the recent panic

Accentuate the positive: 20 stocks that bucked the stock market's decline in March with double-digit gains

Don't miss: This commodities strategy can protect you from inflation, scarcity and even price declines

-Philip van Doorn

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03-31-26 1734ET